"Rollercoaster" Brexit Warning

Chancellor Philip Hammond said that Brexit will be a rollercoaster ride, "a period where inevitably there will be more uncertainty in the economy".

17:32 04 October 2016

Chancellor Philip Hammond has told the Conservative conference that the process of leaving the EU is going to be a “rollercoaster ride”. He emphasised that his priorities lie not on balancing the books by 2020 but spending on new homes and transport. He added that it was “common sense” to invest to support growth and jobs.

 

Addressing the audience that included Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband, he said that details of a new “flexible and pragmatic” plan will be released in next month’s Autumn Statement that would include a greater scope for investment to boost the economy including extra borrowing of £2bn to speed up the construction of new homes.

 

"When times change, we must change with them," he said. "So we will no longer target a surplus at the end of this Parliament. But make no mistake the task of fiscal consolidation must continue.

 

"The British people elected us on a promise to restore fiscal discipline. And that is exactly what we are going to do. But we will do it in a pragmatic way that reflects the new circumstances we face."